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Dark techno is your favourite genre? Even though I don't listen to much electronic music compared to before, I have a heart for those high reverb/echoes and deep bass sounds heard in deep trance/house or minimal techno. Instruments sound clear and the crisp percussion on top is what you would hear in well made songs. Voice adds to the creepiness. This one may be too dark for me, but still enjoyed it. Glad your experimenting with music. Have fun

Bye for now

Hi Khrossfire,

Didn't know you live in fremont CA. I'm actually studying in Hayward CA. I'm a international student though. Anyway, here are my thoughts about your song.

67 channels used. Sounds about what diverse and complex music should have. I'm not going to comment much on the content variation, but I am a bit surprised that the song is not as diverse as I thought it would be.

0:00-0:45 I like the saw like bass and the background harmonies. I think it would have been better to use that lead instrument building up to something rather than use the same pattern. You did well using the fx as a buildup. Good choice with the percussion. I see that you did that instant drop of the percussion at 0:44. You heard me. However, what could exaggerate this quick drop is to have the snare have more reverb in the snare roll and then do the cut.

0:45 - 1:29
Its been a while since I heard the demo so not exactly sure what differences you made. I can say that with the amount of instruments going on, you mixed well. Just those little details like certain instruments panned shows lots of thought was put in here. 1:14 transition flowed well. Same with 1:29 into the piano section. The only concern I have here is that maybe you could have used a different drum pattern. For a climax to use the same drum pattern kinda takes away the energy. Perhaps using hi hats accompanying the cymbal clashes may have brought the energy one more level up.

1:29 - 2:28
Piano is my favorite instrument so this looks promising. For some reason, I feel like this part is lounge like music. Gentle phasing fx and drums give a slightly dreamy feel. I have no concerns with the piano chords, but the melody with the R hand didn't do it for me particular at 1:44 when the bass is stripped. During this quiet moment of the song, I think more reverb on the piano would have helped maintain that dreamy/chill feel. Fortunately it didn't take that long (1:59) to get right back into the chilled feeling.

2:28 transition could have been better. I notice some variation to the chorus so big kudos for that. Wait....this is actually like a bridge. That caught me by surprise. Smart move.

The rest of the song is similar as prior sections so extrapolate my earlier comments to these latter portions of the song. 3:44 to the end felt somewhat redundant. I know you wanted to end in a relaxed way. A good idea, but change up the melodies. Nice finish with the percussion.

Overall, your definitely getting more technical. It looks like people are noticing it from your previous reviewers so your on the right track. Good songs typically take time to make and you proved hard work pays off. The good thing (or you may see it as bad) is that the work only gets harder from here. There were concerns I brought up, but remember these are only a opinion. Do what you feel is best. Something tells me you don't like to be content with something always striving to become better. With that said, I am confident your going to be producing even high quality projects in the future. Good luck and have fun making music.

5/5 vote and review

Lockyn responds:

Hey Music-story!

I'd just like you to know that I truly appreciate your reviews. Definitely gives me some insight on problems I have with producing, and I respect your opinion greatly! So thank you very much, good sir. :) And that's cool, interesting that you are an international student - I hope you are enjoying this area, despite the studying.

I'll admit that I got sick of listening to this track over and over again - might have contributed to me releasing this a bit early. There was still work I could have done to improve it as always - I hit my limit on this one though. Hope the lack of diversity didn't detract from your listening though.

0:00-0:45 I didn't think about using reverb that way... now that you mentioned it, it sounds like a great idea. The lead instrument you're talking about was actually the clean happy synth you mentioned in your last review - I agree I should have maybe varied the melody a bit, but it didn't occur to me when I constructed the build up.

0:45-1:29 The biggest difference between the demo and this piece in this section was the kick and the mixing of the synths. I changed bass sidechaining to bass volume ducking so it would come out along with the saw. Also, doubled the length of the chorus. The last change was the kick - has more presence now, and also removed the annoying subbass tail that the kick sample had, it was only audible with headphones, but it improved bass clarity a lot. The drum patterns were something I didn't work on too much, which showed huh. Probably should have spent more time on that. Did think about hi hats, but didn't feel right, or at least not the way I used the hats.

1:29-2:28 Piano is my favorite as well! Lounge music sounds accurate... I'll admit (again) that I skimped on that melody, but with the intent of keeping it a simple and gentle ambient section. Definitely should have increased reverb here. 1:59 was actually the part I was most satisfied with... dunno, but it clicked with me more than any other part of the track.

2:28 was honestly (I'm telling you everything here LOL) an almost copy paste of the first build up, minus one or two synths/fx. So... definitely I should have worked on this part more. And yes, I had hoped to surprise one or two people with that little bonus section! Thanks :)

3:44 I understand what you're saying - I'm not satisfied with the ending either... but ending on a similar theme as the chilled section earlier worked better than other countless arrangements I made. And yes, should have changed up the melodies... you're just calling all my laziness out now, aren't you!? xD

I thank you for the compliments, and I'm looking forward to putting out higher quality projects if I can! You can always count on my having fun making music, and I hope you will continue to make music as well - I enjoy listening to your tracks a lot! Good luck in your studies, and take care!

Hi Pillow,

I'm a fan of the whole spacy like music. I know this is a work in progress so somethings I'm about to say are probably obvious to you.

Mastering issue...no surprise. The kicks have some clipping going on.

I feel like you should make the pad/choir have more presence. This doesn't mean louder, but maybe have less reverb particularly on the lower frequencies of that instrument.

You may want to add in more fx in the first theme before 0:45 just to make it more interesting. The lead instrument should be more powerful. Emphasize those high frequencies and perhaps slight delay to it.

0:45 I like the chordal bass. Perhaps sidechaining could help. If you do have sidechaining already, put some more.

1:15 the song kinda takes a turn down. It doesn't feel catchy and there really isn't much new melodies going on. 1:30 you can't have your lead playing the same 16th notes as the bass. It doesn't feel like your building up to anything if you do that.

Change up the drums a bit. Just a kick and clap is somewhat generic especially for the climax of your demo. Hi hats perhaps add?

You need more fx like that sound at 1:26 (guitarish fade out sound)

Overall, the song needs more melodies and harmonies. By that I also mean a different set of melodies and harmonies...not layering. I'm sure you will fix up the mastering concerns but I'm more concerned about the mixing All your instruments can't have high cuts to them....or at least it sounds like all your instruments are subby except that new instrument at 1:30. Good luck on the finishing product.
5/5 review and vote

bye for now

pillow responds:

Oh my. I love reviews like this. Constructive criticism helps so much. I will work on....basically all of this haha. Thanks for the help!

PS: I know this is a STUPID question....but how can I remove clipping from the kicks.

Hey Sirdangolot5,

I thought you did quite well at this song. The bass beat is catchy and it almost seems like the loss of tone in the first chord of four made it more unique. I like the automation, pads, layering of instruments and fx done. Good job with getting the right amount of sidechaining. I appreciate those subtle details with the drums on the transitions.

My only concerns are how you brought in the bass around 0:03. Not much of a explosion there.
1:30 I think you could have added a new melody over top. However the atmosphere this song brings actually kept my interest.
Ending is a bit weak.

Definitely one of the better trance songs here. Great choice with the instruments. Compositional weaknesses here and there take away the originality, but the emotion in this song makes up for it.
Keep it up.
5/5 review and vote

Hey thanks for the review. I like to give one back. I'm not sure if a experimental song is something you wanted more reviews on, but here goes.

Interesting, a mixture of trance, folk, and classical. I would have to say this is like your mainstream kind. The reason I say this is because the harmonies you used are similar to other piano solo songs. It worked for the professional artists so why not try it. I'm a fan of symphonies when it comes to classical music due to the variation going on. Though yours may not be a symphony, it is a good thing that you incorporated other genres to help keep my interest.

0:44 perhaps a low cut on that thunder fx so I can hear it better. Nice job incorporating nature sounds.

0:57 the choir sounds good, but I personally find it better to have a longer attack on it. This abrupt choir rather than a glowing hum is best represented at 1:04.

As you probably already expected, I'm all about diversity and I felt the song felt repetitive. 1:12 the harmony is playing the similar thing as it did earlier in the song. However, this is just me so don't let that bug you.

1:39 Well the explosion can only do so much as a transition. It was not enough and a bit messy. However, back to the peaceful stuff, your strong point.

Ghostly like fx w/ nature sounds and a subbed vocal...again a interesting idea. What is the voice saying?

What's up with the 2:09 subby bass buildup? Didn't work as a fluent transition to me.

2:10 I like this part because of the piccolo/flute playing.

So I'm going to cut the review here because I am noticing a trend. This is truly a experimental song as you said. You tried a bunch of stuff, but had a few issues with the transitions. That's fine, you learn through experimenting. I would have liked it if you experimented more on making more original melodies. I can tell you have a music background higher than most NG artists here, so it should not come as a surprise to you when I say your piano composition was a bit unoriginal. Remember, its not about the notes per se you used but the rhythm is unoriginal. However, great job with bringing the mellow mood along with some aggression at the more trancy part. Oh, and about that attempted vocal part...are you trying to find a vocalist? Oh I too wish I could find someone who had a golden voice. That is essentially the key thing to make any quality song today. As you probably know, stripping the vocals in mainstream music makes the song sound bland.
Oh well, make do with what we got.

5/5 review and vote
Bye for now

SoulofT responds:

"Interesting, a mixture of trance, folk, and classical. I would have to say this is like your mainstream kind. The reason I say this is because the harmonies you used are similar to other piano solo songs. It worked for the professional artists so why not try it. I'm a fan of symphonies when it comes to classical music due to the variation going on. Though yours may not be a symphony, it is a good thing that you incorporated other genres to help keep my interest."

To be honest I'm not that familiar with piano symphonies, it's not the style of music I normally listen to and they're usually far too advanced for me. But definitely I can see that the main piano melody seems to be similar to the cliched piano symphony sound,, I'm glad you found the mixture of genres interesting :))

"0:44 perhaps a low cut on that thunder fx so I can hear it better. Nice job incorporating nature sounds."

haha I'm actually glad you thought that was a thunder fx, it was actually a sweep down from a vengeance pack which I edited and layered with a different sweep I made, but it definitely sounds like one :)

"0:57 the choir sounds good, but I personally find it better to have a longer attack on it. This abrupt choir rather than a glowing hum is best represented at 1:04."

that's true, the original choir sound had a much longer attack which i decreased over excessively.

"As you probably already expected, I'm all about diversity and I felt the song felt repetitive. 1:12 the harmony is playing the similar thing as it did earlier in the song. However, this is just me so don't let that bug you."

I suppose that would be because I'm used to producing trance music and that usually has a repetitive pattern; I also find it helps the song flow more smoothly

"1:39 Well the explosion can only do so much as a transition. It was not enough and a bit messy. However, back to the peaceful stuff, your strong point."

I actually did and re-did that transition a couple of time and it was the hardest part of the song to do, so I'm not surprised you found it lacking

"Ghostly like fx w/ nature sounds and a subbed vocal...again a interesting idea. What is the voice saying?"

The voice says: "Since the moment of birth, the touch smell or sight" [piano] "is a welcome home"... there's meant to be "of a familiar face" between them but I wanted the piano to stand out in that section lol

"What's up with the 2:09 subby bass buildup? Didn't work as a fluent transition to me."

I like that buildup

"2:10 I like this part because of the piccolo/flute playing."

thanks :)) and flute

About that original melodies well, to be honest I'm not quite that advanced in composition I can't even read notes although that might not matter, but yeah again it does sound like a cliched piano melody :p I'll try my best to be more original next time

and who isn't trying to find a vocalist? xD

thanks a lot for your detailed review, I'll be sure to review some more of your tracks when I have the time

bye for now :))

Hey Xsalvaz,

Not sure what your goal in music is whether that be going pro or just doing this as a hobby. If it is a hobby, keep doing what your doing. However, if the former is true, less eurodance/eurotrance like songs and more current dance/trance songs if that makes sense. Anyway, this will not influence the comments I have for this preview.

The beginning explosion like fx is clipping a bit. Was that intentional? I'm not a big fan of the whole chipmunk sounding vocoder fx. Perhaps take that out in the final version.

The transition at 0:03 could have been smoother. Shouldn't be that hard to fix.

Not bad of a build up. Perhaps more melodies rather than layering. I feel like you chose the right drums for this kind of music.

Not sure what happened at 0:48. Again intentional clipping? Sounded a bit messy here.

Overall I'm enjoying the happy themes. I'm not a big fan of euro dance because of that generic bass pattern, but that aside, there seems to be some mastering issues which I know you will fix by the final version. To make things more heavenly happy try for some wind fx or sweeps. Good luck with the final version.

5/5 review and vote
Bye for now

Xsalvaz responds:

Thanks for the great review man. Yes, that clipping is intentional. It's a bit crusher effect. That voice is actually where I sampled Kirby. I'm working on transitions and effects now. I threw the track together very quickly and now I'm trying to get it all sorted out. I'll see what I can do about adding a new little melody or harmony into the mix :D
~X

Hey,

I'm liking this song because it tells a story. Been a while since I heard something this diverse on NG or anywhere for that matter. I'm short on time for reviewing and do much more detailed reviews than this so advanced apologies. All I will say is that your knowledge of theory is already better than most people who can't do anymore than that keyboard mashing. I can sense the melodies, though simple are well thought of. Keep making this style of music. More stories, the better. I know first hand how difficult it is to make songs like this.
Just work on the mixing a bit more and keep making them happy songs :)

5/5 vote and review
Bye for now

stevetheking171 responds:

Hey,

Thanks for taking the time to write the great review. Its always a pleasure to receive feedback as useful and informative as this!

I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

Thanks again!

I'm not going to be elaborate on the review as you probably just want to know if the song is cleaner than the older version.

I took a very quick listen of the old version before comparing to this, but not as in depth as I should of. Anyway, I'm still hearing that 0:14 thump to be a little too loud. I was hoping for a compositional change more than the cleaner sound. I just thought the beginning was messy due to the pad in the original version. Perhaps the beginning is cleaner now, butI think you need to get rid of that pad completely and replace it with a better one. Every other area of the song sounds about the same as the original and was not really messy to begin with. Perhaps make loud high hats a bit more noticeable.

Bye for now

Sol responds:

Thank you! :))

I won't be changing the pads, but maybe the string is too loud in my opinion (that's what you're hearing)

I really don't know if you're talking about the choir or the string...Thank you! Less errors to clean<3

Your not going to get any fair reviewing as there has been a or multiple zero voters on NG since the AP existed. Don't let that bother you. NG is a great place to just have fun making music. Many other more serious music webpages out there that will get you noticed.

First off, are you going to put vocals on this song?
Mixing problem is 0:14 and all those explosive percussion areas with that piano instrument. It sounds too loud and takes away that lovely theme. Possibly put some reverb and delay on that piano and perhaps increase the attack time.

Good piano composition, but at 0:28 the song gets messy. Piano composition sounds random or just not catchy. Though you didn't make any changes to your pad from the beginning of the song, I think you may have wanted to reduced its fuzziness as that added to the messiness. I think using clean sounding instruments with fuzzy like fx instruments are better than a fuzzy like instrument. Opinion though so feel free to disagree.

0:42 a decent transition. Your typical bass pattern. Not a concern to me since it didn't last too long.

1:12 I'm a bit on the fence whether or not it was a good idea to use that lead instrument. The song sounds more hardcore and with the choir pads going, the themes conflict. I also feel that your use of explosive kick sounds at 1:31 to act as a transition to the chorus was something you could have done better.

So, regardless of the song title, I enjoyed the varying themes presented even if some may be conflicting with each other. I think you thought harder kick means club like sound, but it didn't really work here. You say the song is not mastered. I honestly don't find a problem with the mastering. Your mixing is the concern as there is that messy section I explained earlier on. Piano has a super fast attack that it almost feels like your jamming your finger at the electric keyboard. You were a little too hard on the sidechaining particularly at 1:54. That poor choir pad doesn't get a chance to shine. Good luck with the final project and I hope my review helps you.
5/5 vote and review.

Sol responds:

Choir was suppose to be like that, it's side chaining. Also, there is no problem with the kick from what most people have told me.

Thank you for reviewing though. :)

Ashley? Using this song in a game named ashley or what?

I'm hearing out of tune instruments. Interesting idea, but I feel it only works for a short moment in any song. Cheerful composition though and since I'm a fan of happy themes, this fits my taste. The DnB drums kinda felt ackward. I think you should have went with more gentler drums to fit the gentle happy theme.

0:55 I like the ethnic theme, but I feel like I heard it before that I'm not taken in awe of it. It didn't last that long so that's a good thing.

Song repeats here on so not going to repeat myself.

Overall, I like the song due to the theme matching my taste. However, the bass didn't do enough. Just octaves back and forth really got old quickly. I give you kudos for making a somewhat catchy song without using that much drums. I only wished you used different percussion and drum beat.
Nice job on the mastering. Heard no clipping. I suppose I can compliment you on the mixing, but with so few instruments in your song, it really isn't that difficult to mix. Lastly, the ending felt unfinished. An easy fix I'm sure. 5/5 vote and review.

Bye for now

Deidara responds:

I'm learning how to make the drums, so sadly I just used a preset loop right here >.< But I'm working on it! I'm currently working in the next name soundtrack so I'm going to try to make sure the drums and bass sound way better~~!

Thank You for your Review!~

Jermosseu @Music-story

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